Boot tree



Aug. 25, 1964 H. J. KAMINSKI BOOT TREE 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed March 19,1963 1964 H. J. KAMINSKI 3,145,402

- BOOT TREE Filed March 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A zz United StatesPatent BOOT TREE Henry J. Kaminshi, Hingham, Mass, assignor to LeTrappeur, Inc, Westwood, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar.1Q, 1963, Ser. No. 266,343 4 Claims. (Cl. 12-120.5)

This invention relates to shoe holders and more particularly to boottrees of the type especially adapted to secure a pair of ski boots in amanner to hold the soles straight and flat.

Ski boots and other types of heavy outdoor shoe wear require carefulstorage after they have become wet, with particular attention to thesoles of the boots to insure that they remain in their proper fiatcondition. A variety of boot trees for this purpose have been proposed.However, such boot trees, while usually serving their intended function,are often difiicult or time consuming to operate. Accordingly, an objectof this invention is to provide a novel and improved boot tree that iseasy and reliable in operation.

Also boot trees should be adjustable, both to accept different sizes ofboots, as childrens and adults, and different sole thicknesses, and itis another object of this invention to provide a boot tree that willstore in proper clamped condition a variety of boots.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified and improvedboot tree having adjustable and easy to operate sole clamping means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improveduniversal boot tree which is economical to manufacture.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a boot tree whichincludes a boot sole support having a pair of adjustable heel securingmembers and a pair of adjustable toe securing clamps that may beadjusted in their spacing relative to each other. Each toe clampstructure in the preferred embodiment is mounted on a support platewhich is slidable in boot sole support channel structure relative to theheel clamp to provide adjustment for accommodating various types andsizes of boots.

The slidable plate defines a first pivotal axis that extends laterallyof the support channel structure and a clamping element is secured tothe plate at a point intermediate itsends for pivoting about that axis.One end of the clamping element includes a boot sole engaging portionandthe other end includes a camming portion. Associated with thecammingportion is a second pivot axis such that camming means rotatedabout the second pivot axis rotates the clamping element about the firstaxis to move the sole engaging portion toward the support channelstructure. The clamp structure also includes means to vary the relativepositions of the two pivot axes so that the position of the soleengaging portion relative to thesupport channel structure may beadjusted to enable the boot tree to accept different thicknesses ofsoles with the same pressure exerted by the toe clamp structure. Theboot tree is a simple, adjustable and rugged structure capable ofeconomical manufacture which will accept boots of varying sizes andsoles of varying thickness, and that is easy to operate.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be seen asthe following description of a preferred embodiment thereof progresses,in conjunction with the drawings,'in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a boot tree constructed inaccordance with the invention showing a boot in secured positionthereon;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the boot tree in ice FIG. 1 showingthe position of the sole clamping elements securing a pair of boots;

FIG. 3 is a sectional-view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showingfeatures of the heel clamp structure employed in the boot tree;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 showingadditional details of the heel clamp structure;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1 showingdetails of the toe clamp structure employed in the boot tree;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 showingadditional details of the toe clamp structure;

FIG. 7 is a view of the toe clamp structure showing the clamping elementin released position; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views similar to FIG. 7 of a modified toe clampconstruction.

The boot tree shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a frame member whichcomprises two elongated channel members lit, 12 which are securedtogether at the upper end of the boot tree by a bracket member 14 towhich a handle 16 is secured. The channel members receive at their lowerends a base member 18 which has two depending fianges 20, the loweredges of which provide flat aligned surfaces on which the shoe tree mayrest in upright position when not'in use.

Attached to the base 18-is"a heel clamping structure I which includestwo clamping plates 22 and 24, each of which has a body portion 26 andan upturned lip 28 that engage the heel 34) of the boot to be securedtherein. A bolt 32 and locking nut 34 cooperate with the base and theheel clamp platesto hold the securing lips 26 in fixed spaced positionequidistant on either side of channels 1h, 12.

Disposed between the channels 10 and 12 are two flat plates 40 and 42which are slidable along the channels between the top bracket 14 and thebase 18. Each plate carries two upstanding laterally spaced bracket ears44 which define a clamp pivot axis '46 for the toe clamping member 48that is secured for pivoting movement thereon those bracket ears. Thetoe clamping member is manufactured of sheet metal with two side walls50 that overlie the bracket ears .44 and are pinned thereto for pivotingmovement. At one end of the clamping member is a ridged sole engagingportion 52 and at the opposite end of the clamping member a camming axis54 parallel to axis 46 is defined. A bar 56 is rotatably secured to theciampingmember 48 and disposed coaxially with axis 54. The bar 56 has athreaded bore which extends perpendicularly to axis 54 and receives acamming member 58 which includes an adjusting and actuating handle 60 onone end and a camming surface 62 on the opposite end. Camrning surface62 engages the surface of the respective sliding-plate 40 or 42 so thatwhen camming member 58 isrotated about axis 54, the sole engagingportion 52 of the clamping member 48 is forced downwardly towards thesupport plate and carries the toe 64 of the boot secured in the boottree into supporting and straightening engagement with the channelmembers 10 or 12 to secure the boot sole firmly in straight andfiattened condition for proper storage. A stop 66'formed on the clampingplate 48 locates the camming element in clamping position.

The threaded interconnection of the bar 56 and the camming member '58provides an adjustment of the location of axes 46 and 54 so thattheheight of the clamping surface St) is easily varied 'to accommodatediffering sole thicknesses of boots. After the adjustmentof the cammingmember has been made, the vboot may be quickly and easily secured on orreleased from the boot tree. Where it is desired to lock the adjustment,an

Patented Aug. 25, 1964 auxiliary nut may be employed to secure thecamming member 58 in adjusted position relative to bar 56 for aparticular boot sole thickness. Varying lengths of boots are easilyaccommodated as the plates 40, 42 slide freely toward and away from base18 in channels 14 12.

The construction of the heel clamp structure at base 18 is shown ingreater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The base member 18 has a slot 70 thatextends laterally between the channel members 10 and 12 through whichthe bolt 32 is passed. The body portion 26 of each of the clampingplates 22, 24 has a diagonal slot 72 which is also positioned to bealigned with the clamping bolt 32. As the clamping lips 28 are movedtoward one another, the bolt 32 slides up (as viewed in FIG. 3) towardsthe channel 10 and as the heel clamping surfaces slide away from eachother the bolt slides down towards channel 12, movement in eitherdirection producing equal movement of the two clamping lips 28. When thecorrect adjustment has been determined, the clamping members are lockedin place by means of the nut 34. In that position the heels of the bootsto be held in the boot tree are merely seated on the base with the lips28 extending over the soles as shown in FIG. 2.

Additional details of the toe clamping structure are shown in FIGS. -7.As best shown in FIG. 6 the support plates 40 and 42 are secured betweenthe walls 76, 78 of the channels and 12 and are maintained spaced fromone another by means of inserts 80 so that two guide grooves between thechannel walls 76, 78 and the insert 80 are defined in each channel. Theplates 40, 42 slide freely within the guide grooves in the channeltoward and away from the base 18 to provide an adjustable distancebetween the toe clamp structure and the heel clamp structure. Bracketears 44 are bent upward out of the plates 40 and 42 and receive pins 82which pass through the side walls 50 of the clamping member 48 to definethe clamp pivot axis 46 about which the clamping member is rotated fromthe clamped position shown in FIG. 5 to the unclamped position shown inFIG. 7. The camming pivot axis 54 is at one end of the clamping plateand is defined by the pins 84 which secure the bar 56 to the side walls59 of the clamping member 48. As indicated above, camming member 58 isthreadedly received in bar 56. Its camming surface 62 is in engagementwith the support plate 40 or 42 when the bar 56 is rotated by thecamming handle portion 60 and slides along the support plate to rotatethe entire clamping plate 48 about the clamp pivot axis 46 to theposition shown in FIG. 5. The camming member is rotated about axis 54 toa point just past the perpendicular to the support plate into contactwith the stop 66 in which toggle position the sole engaging portion 52of clamping member 48 exerts pressure on the toe portion of the bootsoles to straighten the boot sole and securely hold the boot on the boottree.

The clamping pressure exerted by the portion 52 may be easily adjustedby releasing the clamp to the position shown in FIG. 7 and rotating thecamming member 58 to change its position relative to bar 56. Forclamping a pair of boots on the boot tree all that is required is thesetting of the boot heels in the base 13, sliding the toe clamps intoposition over the boot trees, and moving the handles 60 in to straightenand clamp the boot soles. The camniing action is rapidly accomplishedand requires comparatively little strength compared to the screwing downof a wing nut as is the case in other types of adjustable clampstructures.

A modified structure is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in which the toe clampstructure includes as separate components an adjustable camming element100 and a clamping handle 102 which extends at right angles to thecamming element 100 so that the handle when the clamp is in lockedposition lies flat over the clamping plate 48'. In addition, anauxiliary clamp bar 104 rotatably mounted at the clamp pivot 46 may beemployed Where a particular toe clamp configuration requires a modifiedclamping surface. This clamp bar may be secured by pins 82' and has acurved forward end portion 106 which engages the sole toe and conformsto the particular toe configurations.

Thus it will be seen that the invention provides a versatile and easy tooperate boot tree that is rugged and will accommodate a wide range oftypes and sizes of boots. The design is particularly directed tomanufacturing economies so that the tree may be inexpensively fabricatedby mass production methods. While a preferred embodiment of theinvention has been shown and described, various modifications thereofwill be obvious to those skilled in the art and therefore it is notintended that the invention be limited to the disclosed embodimentthereof or to details thereof and departures may be made therefromwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A boot tree comprising a pair of spaced U-shaped channels providingtwo opposed boot sole support surfaces,

adjustable boot heel securing means mounted at one end of said spacedchannels,

and adjustable boot toe clamping means mounted on said spaced channelsin spaced relation to said heel securing means,

said toe clamping means including two support plates disposed betweenand slidable along said spaced channels,

a pair of bracket ears extending outward from each said support plate,

each pair of cars defining a first pivot axis,

a clamping element mounted for rotation about each said first pivotaxis,

said clamping element having a sole engaging portion on the side of saidfirst pivot axis nearer said heel securing means and a rotatable barelement mounted on the other side of said first pivot axis for rotationabout a second pivot axis parallel to said first pivot axis,

said rotatable bar carrying a threaded cam element extending in adirection perpendicular to said second pivot axis,

said cam element being adapted to engage said support plate so that saidcam element moves along said support plate as said bar is rotated,

and means to stop rotation of said bar in said clamp position.

2. A boot tree comprising a boot sole support,

first means mounted at one end of said boot sole support for securing afirst portion of a boot sole to said support,

second means mounted on said boot sole support in spaced relation tosaid first securing means for clamping a second portion of the bootsole,

said second means including means defining a first pivot axis and bootsole clamping means mounted for rotation about said first pivot axis,

said clamping means having a boot sole engaging portion on the side ofsaid first pivot axis nearer said first securing means,

camming means including a first cam surface secured to said boot solesupport and a second cam surface cooperating with said first surface andsecured to said clamping means, one of said cam surfaces being mountedfor rotational movement between first and second positions about asecond pivot axis spaced from said first pivot axis, the cooperation ofsaid cam surfaces, as said one cam surface is moved from said firstposition to said second position acting to pivot said clamping meansabout said first pivot axis to move said sole engaging portion towardsaid sole support for engagement with the sole of a boot disposed onsaid sole support, and

means to adjust the position of said one cam surface relative to saidsecond pivot axis for enabling the distance between said sole engagingportion of said clamping means and said support when said camming meansis in said second position to be varied for the accommodation of bootsoles of differing thicknesses.

3. The boot tree as claimed in claim 2 wherein said second pivot axis isdefined by a cam support element extending parallel to said first pivotaxis, said one cam surface is secured to said cam support element, andsaid adjusting means moves said one cam surface in a directionperpendicular to said second pivot axis towards and away from said camsupport element.

6 4. The boot tree as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam supportelementiincludes a threaded hole and said one cam surface is formed onan element threadedly secured in said hole and further including stopmeans to positively locate said one cam surface in said second position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A BOOT TREE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SPACED U-SHAPED CHANNELS PROVIDINGTWO OPPOSED BOOT SOLE SUPPORT SURFACES, ADJUSTABLE BOOT HEEL SECURINGMEANS MOUNTED AT ONE END OF SAID SPACED CHANNELS, AND ADJUSTABLE BOOTTOE CLAMPING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SPACED CHANNELS IN SPACED RELATION TOSAID HEEL SECURING MEANS, SAID TOE CLAMPING MEANS INCLUDING TWO SUPPORTPLATES DISPOSED BETWEEN AND SLIDABLE ALONG SAID SPACED CHANNELS, A PAIROF BRACKET EARS EXTENDING OUTWARD FROM EACH SAID SUPPORT PLATE, EACHPAIR OF EARS DEFINING A FIRST PIVOT AXIS, A CLAMPING ELEMENT MOUNTED FORROTATION ABOUT EACH SAID FIRST PIVOT AXIS,